TY - JOUR
T1 - Prospective analysis of pain and pain management in an emergency department
AU - Leigheb, Massimiliano
AU - Sabbatini, Maurizio
AU - Baldrighi, Marco
AU - Hasenboehler, Erik A.
AU - Briacca, Luca
AU - Grassi, Federico
AU - Cannas, Mario
AU - Avanzi, Giancarlo
AU - Castello, Luigi Mario
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Mattioli 1885.
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Background and aim of the work: The aim of pain management in the Emergency Department (ED) is to temporarily optimize patient quality of life by reducing acute discomfort. The goals of this study were to evaluate the intensity and location of pain experienced by patients in the ED, the time to analgesia administration in the ED, and the patient’s satisfaction so to identify potential useful interventions to improve pain management. Methods: We prospectively collected data on the intensity of pain experienced by 137 patients during their ED stays using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). Patients were further stratified by pain intensity according to three categories, and by cause of pain. Results: NRS pain measurements were higher than VAS measurements. Patients who took pain medication within a few hours before their ED visit had a higher mean VAS score at arrival in comparison to patients who did not. Patients treated with pain medications, compared to the non-treated, had more pain at arrival; abdominal pain was treated earlier than non-abdominal pain, whereas no difference in timing of medication administration was noted between traumatic and non-traumatic pain. Among the hospitalized patients, the chest was the most common location of pain; these patients had lower NRS scores than non-hospitalized patients. Patients with mild to moderate pain were more satisfied then those with severe pain. Conclusions: The discrepancy between NRS and VAS scores suggests that pain intensity cannot be determined accurately according to pain scale data alone but should also incorporate clinical judgment. (www.actabiomedica.it).
AB - Background and aim of the work: The aim of pain management in the Emergency Department (ED) is to temporarily optimize patient quality of life by reducing acute discomfort. The goals of this study were to evaluate the intensity and location of pain experienced by patients in the ED, the time to analgesia administration in the ED, and the patient’s satisfaction so to identify potential useful interventions to improve pain management. Methods: We prospectively collected data on the intensity of pain experienced by 137 patients during their ED stays using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). Patients were further stratified by pain intensity according to three categories, and by cause of pain. Results: NRS pain measurements were higher than VAS measurements. Patients who took pain medication within a few hours before their ED visit had a higher mean VAS score at arrival in comparison to patients who did not. Patients treated with pain medications, compared to the non-treated, had more pain at arrival; abdominal pain was treated earlier than non-abdominal pain, whereas no difference in timing of medication administration was noted between traumatic and non-traumatic pain. Among the hospitalized patients, the chest was the most common location of pain; these patients had lower NRS scores than non-hospitalized patients. Patients with mild to moderate pain were more satisfied then those with severe pain. Conclusions: The discrepancy between NRS and VAS scores suggests that pain intensity cannot be determined accurately according to pain scale data alone but should also incorporate clinical judgment. (www.actabiomedica.it).
KW - Emergency department organization
KW - Numeric rating scale
KW - Pain management
KW - Pain medication
KW - Patient satisfaction
KW - Visual analog scale
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85034591767&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85034591767&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.23750/abm.v88i4-S.6790
DO - 10.23750/abm.v88i4-S.6790
M3 - Article
C2 - 29083349
AN - SCOPUS:85034591767
SN - 0392-4203
VL - 88
SP - 19
EP - 30
JO - Acta Biomedica
JF - Acta Biomedica
IS - S4
ER -